Violet Blood
(The Cure Academy Series #1)
By Sophia Stafford
Copyright © 2018 by Sophia Stafford. This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, placed and incidents are all the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Prologue
“Please no, please don’t hurt me.” The woman fell to her knees, her head hanging.
Two dark figures stood over her, the shadows hiding their faces. One grabbed the woman by the hair, fisting it in his hand, and pulled her up to her knees.
“Stay away from her.” Benedict Ravensmith finally stepped forward, unable to hold back any longer, his hands clenched at his sides as he saw the fear on the woman’s face. Small drops of rain water started to fall from the sky, mixing with tears as they ran down her cheeks.
The attackers didn’t look up as one pulled out a blade, the curve of the knife shining in the New Orleans night.
Benedict ran towards them, arm stretched out ready to grab the blade, as his body braced for impact. It didn’t come. Instead Benedict stood alone, the attackers and the woman now further down the dark alley. Always out of his reach.
The blade was now at the woman’s throat, her eyes locked on Benedict’s as she sobbed, “Help me.”
But he couldn’t. He couldn’t help her or the other victims that would come after her.
One of the attackers sliced the blade across her throat as they both muttered a spell. The woman’s body twitched on the floor, thrashing from one side to the other as her blood spilt out into a puddle on the ground. Her screams of agony were almost deafening.
Benedict closed his eyes, unable to watch any more. For months, he had been pulled into this dream, subconsciously forcing himself to watch the senseless murder over and over again.
When the screams quieted he opened his eyes, jumping back as the woman stood in front of him, her face grey and her throat slit.
Her hands latched onto his arms in an iron tight grip. “Help me, Ravensmith, please.”
Benedict shot up in his bed, sweat pouring down his face, his heart pounding against his chest.
“Jesus.” He swung his legs off his bed, twisting his head side to side, stretching his muscles. He picked up the brown folder from the floor, a picture of a smiling blonde looking up at him. Katie Laverson, a twenty-two-year-old witch from a small family in France. She’d been in America for four days when the attack happened. Behind her were more smiling faces of the other victims. Why was she the one who haunted his dreams?
The ringing of his phone pulled him from his thoughts. He leant over and picked it up.
“Hello?”
“It’s Azrael, they’ve found another one.”
Another one. Another murder victim he meant.
“Where?” Benedict stood, already pulling on his trousers from the night before as he brushed his light brown hair away from his face.
“New York, from what I hear it’s a mess. Not as clean as the others. Lilliah and I will be there in the next couple of hours. I’ve got people at the scene already so they’ll send you the address.”
“I’m on my way,” Benedict promised, already at the door.
“We need to end this, Benedict. Someone is declaring war and your magic folk are dropping like flies.” He disconnected without a goodbye.
Leaving Benedict with that thought: war. Whether he liked it or not, it had started.
Chapter 1
“How could a dress go up in price?”
The saleswoman pursed her lips and tipped her head to the side. “It just has, now are you buying the dress or not?”
Jaycen stared down at the flimsy material hanging from her hands. “Dresses don’t go up in price; they come down in price... In sales!”
“If you’re not going to buy this dress, then please put it back and leave.”
She watched the saleswoman storm off. Other customers were now staring, snickering, and whispering behind their hands.
“She can’t afford it.”
“How embarrassing.”
“This dress was eighty pounds and now it’s one hundred and ten.” Jaycen rounded on one of her onlookers, a young brunette girl who was standing with her friends.
Their eyes widened as Jaycen held out the dress. “Would you pay that for this?”
The girl nervously looked at her friends, who were now all smirking.
“Yeah, I could totally afford that.” The girl nodded, her tone not quite hiding how scared she was. Jaycen was older than her, by a few years at least. She was also taller than the girls, and at five-foot-five that didn’t happen to Jaycen often.
Jaycen took note of each girl, all of them still dressed in their school uniforms, their school bags hanging from their shoulders. An idea popped into her head, but could she really go through with it was the question.
“Good for you.” Jaycen smiled sweetly and turned away, deciding against her idea. The girls all giggled amongst themselves, most likely talking about her. At one point, that would have bothered her. But not today. Because today all she could think about was this dress, and how her mother just had to have it.
“Isn’t this the most beautiful dress you’ve ever seen?” her mother had gushed, rushing into the store and grabbing the dress off the rack. Jaycen had never seen her look so excited.
“Oh, if I had the money I’d live in dresses like this.” Her mother had smiled sadly, putting the dress back.
Two days later she’d announced that they were leaving.
“I have a great hunch about a small town in America,” she said simply, already starting to pack their belongings. It was then that Jaycen decided she was going to buy her mother the dress. Some would say it was a bribe, a way of getting her mother to stay put for just a little while. And a bribe was exactly what it was. Jaycen wasn’t ready to pack up and leave yet. She’d kind of got used to the dull skies and beautiful sights of England.
“She’s still standing there.” One of the young girls giggled again, this time a lot louder.
Jaycen pretended she hadn’t heard. She was about to turn around and leave, when she heard a girl mutter, “People like her need to get a grip, and not go into shops they clearly can’t afford.”
And just like that, Jaycen’s mind was made up, with a plan already forming. These girls were rude, and at some point in their lives, would have to be taught that being rude never paid off. It just so happened that today was that day. She pulled the dress off the hanger and rolled it into a small, tight ball, holding it low and out of sight. The girls all hushed as she walked around the shop, pretending to look at the other clothes. Eventually she headed towards the girls, smiling widely.
“Excuse me.”
They all parted, giving her a wide berth. All of them except one. A tall brunette with a smirk on her face as her eyes took in Jaycen. Bingo.
Jaycen slid past them, nudging the girl with her shoulder so she didn’t feel the dress drop into her bag.
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” She laughed, her smile almost sickly sweet. She didn’t wait for their reply, instead darting out of the shop and staying just out of sight.
This was going to go one of two ways. Option one: The alarm wouldn’t go off; Jaycen would slip past them once again and get the dress. The girls would go about their ordinary lives, completely unaware, and Jaycen would have her dress. Option two: The alarm would go off. The store clerks would come rushing out, confiscate the dress, and the girls would be in trouble. But then their rich parents would come rushing to their defence and all would be fine. Either way, everything was going to be okay. Or at least that was what Jaycen told herself, squashing down the guilt.
She peeked out from behind the stairs, just as the group of girls exited the shop. She held her breath, waiting for a blaring alarm, but nothing came. The girls all chatted away happily and kept walking, and Jaycen’s dreams of staying in one place for more than seven months were still very much alive. So, still staying out of sight, she followed the group as they window-shopped and stopped for coffee, waiting for the right moment to slip in and grab the dress. Finally, the girl with the bag turned away and Jaycen moved. She walked with speed, keeping her head low. She was no master thief, but she had seen Ocean’s Eleven a few times, so that should count for something.
When she was close enough she looked around, just making sure no one was watching. The girls were all looking away; this was her shot. Slowly, she slipped her hand into the bag, her fingers gripping the soft material; all she had to do now was lift it out slowly.
“Oi you! Thief!”
Jaycen was so caught up in the moment, being so careful as she pulled the dress out of the bag, that she didn’t even hear the man’s voice.
Until he shouted again, this time louder and closer. Her body froze as her heart pounded in her chest.
“Oh God, please no.”
Everything else seemed to follow in slow motion. The girls all turned around, their eyes widening when they noticed Jaycen’s hand in the bag. Other people passing by all turned to look too. The man who shouted at her was marching her way, his eyes narrowed solely on her with a woman hot on his heels. Jaycen held up her hands and smiled.
“I wasn’t stealing from her,” she tried to explain, before deciding that reasoning just wasn’t going to work. So, she turned and ran.
People jumped out of her way as they saw her running towards them. She caught sight of two store guards jogging towards her, their walkie-talkies out, and their bellies bouncing with each step. She couldn’t help but smile as she ran past them, the only thing standing in her way was their heavy breathing and shouts of “Stop!”
“You need to stop.”
The sound of the man’s voice nearly made her falter. She looked over her shoulder to see him running after her. His dark, intense eyes pinned on her as he weaved in and out of the shocked shoppers.
“Who the hell...” She picked up her speed, already clocking the exit. This couldn’t have gone any more wrong, she thought, already mentally saying goodbye to England. It was beautiful, but it really wasn’t worth this kind of hassle.
“I said, stop.”
A weight pushed Jaycen forward, slamming her into the ground face first. She landed hard, her knee and face pulsing with pain.
“You should have listened to me the first time.” The man laughed, lifting himself off her back just a little. Just enough for her to turn around.
“Get off me!” She twisted on the ground, about to push him off her, only stopping when her hands started to heat up and tingle. She stared down at them mesmerised, until the tingling left her hands and the guy sitting on top of her flew back, landing a few meters away on the ground.
“I... I…” Jaycen stumbled to her feet, her mouth hanging open with shock. What the hell had just happened?
The guy sat up, a slow, knowing smile spread across his lips. “So, you’re one of them.”
Not waiting to find out what he meant, Jaycen turned and ran away, her hands still shaking.
Chapter 2
6 months later.
Jaycen sat outside the head teacher’s office, his secretary typing away on her computer and throwing an occasional, disapproving glance her way.
After what felt like a lifetime of constant clicking the woman spoke, “The principal will see you now.”
Jaycen pushed herself up and walked into the office. She’d been at the school a total of six months and this was her first visit—in her book, that wasn’t bad going.
“Miss Reece, please take a seat.” The principal didn’t smile, but instead sat back in his chair and pointed to a small plastic chair on the other side of his desk. She closed the door behind her, noticing another man standing in the corner of the room, leaning on a bookshelf, and watching her with clear blue eyes. He didn’t look like a teacher; he looked too cool with his light brown hair swept back and had a neatly trimmed beard. Maybe one of those social workers who tried to be down with the kids? The type who wore converse, just to prove you could trust him. He wasn’t wearing converse though, but plain black shoes with plain black trousers and a white shirt. If anything, he looked like a waiter.
Jaycen pulled the chair back and sat down, her eyes bouncing from one guy to the other, not exactly sure the reason for this meeting. Mr Green, the principal, was twitchy and a little unsettled, while the man standing looked calm but alert.
When no one spoke, she stated, “I didn’t start the fight.”
The principal pulled open a brown folder and started to skim through its contents. “Well, that is not what Jessica Cheeseman said, unfortunately. According to her, you attacked her.”
Attack was a little extreme for the light push Jaycen had actually given. She smiled, remembering the girl’s look of horror. It turned out no one had ever dared to stand up to her before, let alone actually push her back.
“She was bullying a smaller girl. I told her to stop and she didn’t. I pushed her and she cried. That was about the extent of it.” Although no tears had actually run down the girl’s face, her eyes had watered, and Jaycen could have sworn she had seen her lip tremble.
“Pushing is still against the school policy,” he pointed out, a little smug.
“But bullying isn’t?” she fired back, a small part of her enjoying the feeling as the smile fell from his face. Point one to her.
“That is a different matter.” His attention left Jaycen as he studied the paper in front of him.
The stranger standing cleared his throat, automatically putting Mr Green on edge. His whole body shifted as he sat up straighter in his chair, occasionally glancing at the man before continuing. “A different school for every year of your education. That must have been… lonely. How do you feel about that?” He spoke the words as if he was reading them straight from a script.
“I feel well travelled.” She sat back as far the chair would allow and crossed her arms, her foot tapping on the floor.
“And—” Mr Green cleared his throat, his fingers aimlessly flicking through the pages on his desk, little beads of sweat starting to form on his shiny, bald head. One thing was becoming very clear: He had no idea where this was going. But why was he so nervous? She turned to get a better look at the man standing. Was he from the school board? Was Mr Green being examined right now? Jaycen smiled slowly; this meeting could become very interesting indeed.
“This is your first American school in three years. Is that correct?”
“Would I be able to have a moment with Jaycen?” The mystery guy pushed himself off the wall, a small, expectant smile on his lips as if he could actually read Jaycen’s thoughts and was enjoying squashing them.
“Yes, yes of course.” Mr Green shot to his feet so fast the leather chair behind him almost fell to the floor. “Take all the time you need.” He gestured to his chair and bolted out of the room. She wasn’t sure but Jaycen swore she heard him mutter, “Thank God,” as he left.
Mystery man casually took a seat in Mr Green’s chair and leant forward, his baby blue eyes looking right at her, but he still said nothing.
“Something tells me you’re not a teacher,” Jaycen broke the silence, her tapping foot now getting faster. Still silence. Who the hell was this guy?
“About six-months-ago you were involved in an incident in England; do you remember?” he asked, ignoring her observation completely.
That was not what she had been expecting. “I mean, describe an incident?” She scratched the back of her neck, knowing what he was talking about immediately. Apart from her failed attempt to become a master thief, her short time in England had been extremely uneventful. Had this guy come all this way to arrest her for t
rying to steal a dress? Surely that was just a little bit extreme?
“A man chased you; you both fell. What I need you to do is tell me what happened next. I need you to describe it in as much detail as you can.”
Thankfully, the dress wasn’t mentioned and Jaycen started to breathe a little easier as she wiped her sweaty palms on her trousers. But, what had happened next? The events of that day had been replaying in her mind for months. She’d analysed everything, looked at it from every angle, and had simply come up with nothing. At one point, she had even thought she’d actually imagined the whole thing.
She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. Who was this man? And how the hell had he known about England? He definitely wasn’t from there; his accent was unmistakably American.
“I don’t know what happened,” she finally shared, deciding to just tell the truth.
“Has it ever happened before?” he pressed, nodding slowly and frowning deeply.
She bit the side of her lip and silently shook her head.
“Sebastian told me you threw him a couple of meters, not an easy feat for your first time.” He rubbed his chin, staring at a spot just behind her.
“Sebastian?” First time? First time at what? She could think of hundreds of questions she’d like to ask this man right now, but held back, at least until she knew a little more about him.
“Yes, the man who chased you down. He’s a friend of mine.”
“Oh.” What more could she really say? They both sat in silence, the man deep in thought, while Jaycen just sat there watching him as he made notes on a piece of paper.
Her curiosity increasing with every silent second that passed between them. “So, is that it? Is that why you’re here?”
“No.” He shook his head, looking her dead in the eye. “I’m here because on that day you showed signs of being a magical holder with powers that are just manifesting at seventeen. This is simply unheard off.” His face showed no emotion as he spoke, his words matter-of-fact.
“Powers?” Jaycen kept her smile at bay. Was this some kind of joke?
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